The West McDonnell Ranges

The McDonnel Ranges (or MacDonnell Ranges) is an impressive mountain chain, 644 km long, right in the middle of Australia. Its is made of parallel ridges running from East to West. Alice spring is located in the middle of those ranges, which is why there are the West McDonnell Ranges (West of Alice) and the East McDonnell Ranges (East of Alice). The range is composed of red sandstone peaks and gorges with the highest peaks being Mount Liebig (1,524m / 5,000 ft) and Mount Zeil (1,510 m / 4,955 ft).

The mountain range was named after Sir Richard MacDonnell (the Governor of South Australia at the time) by John McDouall Stuart, whose 1860 expedition, from Adelaide to what is now Darwin, reached them in April of that year.

The West McDonnel Ranges will provide you with a number of beautiful gorges, gaps, valleys and other gorgeous landscapes. The main attraction are :

Simpsons Gap
Standley Chasm
Ellery Creek Big hole
Serpentine Gorge
Ochre Pits
Ormiston Gorge
Redbank Gorge
Glen Helen Gorge (this where the photos on that page were taken)
Tnorala Gosse Bluff
Palm Valley

Should you decide to follow the Mereenie loop you will pass close to those places, try and see some of them. You can also ride in a helicopter over the Ranges for a beautiful view, a nice experience and not too many dollars.

Unfortunately due to our crash we couldn't explore the West McDonnell Ranges, but two of us managed any way to find the time for a 15 minutes helicopter ride, while waiting for the tow truck.